Luciano De Crescenzo
Così Parlò Bellavista

A probable or improbable radio dedication, equipped with obligatory "circular hugs," opens the first cinematic experience of the former engineer, then a rising star of contemporary writing, Luciano De Crescenzo. "Così parlò Bellavista" is a tribute to Neapolitan culture almost current, a sort of modern-day "Oro di Napoli," which captures the peculiarities and sorrows of Neapolitan characters, absolutely unique in the world. If before there was 'o pazzariello, the guappo, the credit pizza maker, the dispenser of wisdom, now there is the deputy substitute doorman, the friend of Mrs. Rinascente, the installment coffin seller, the assistant of mysteries, the knight who wakes up when he hears about money, the man with the red seahorse, and the keeper of the love park. Anyway, characters that only in Naples, thank God, can be found.

Gennaro Bellavista, a retired philosophy professor, married, with a daughter named Patrizia, finds himself daily discussing the mentioned subject with Saverio the sweeper, Salvatore the deputy substitute doorman, Luigino the poet, and other patrons. Everything goes smoothly until the arrival in Naples from Milan of Dr. Cazzaniga, the new head of personnel at Alfasud of Pomigliano d'Arco. Already in the taxi that would take him to his new residence, he encounters the originality of the previously mentioned subjects. The pro-Di Giacomo taxi driver who does not spare a "lievete 'a nanz" and a colorful "'o sang' e chi t'è 'bbive! Ma nunn 'a vid' a freccia e chi t'è 'mmuort?" interspersed with verses from the greatest Neapolitan poet. The bartender who immediately becomes familiar with the doctor's anthropometric data, the tailor who checks his condition on the spot, the traffic cop exasperated by overcrossing congestion. The arrival home is not the best. The doorman, according to Professor Bellavista, is a mythological figure formed half-chair and half-person, directs him to the substitute doorman who sends him to the deputy substitute doorman (not to mention Garibaldi, the parrot who knows the names of all the tenants) in accompanying him to his assigned apartment and educating him on the deeds of the professor de quo.

Cazzaniga, a precise and upright Milanese, decides to put a bit of order in the building, first mandating a uniform for the doorman, then moving the antenna wire that would bang against his shutters, then again, changing the order of the mailboxes, fostering a certain dislike in Bellavista and not only, anchored to decades-long habits. Patrizia is involved with Giorgio, an unemployed architect, and when she discovers she is pregnant, it adds to her father's concerns who struggles to grant a shotgun wedding given a future far from rosy. Between an anecdote and an outing, the youngsters manage to marry and earn some money in a sacred handicraft shop "managed" by too many families to pay off. Bellavista and Cazzaniga meet in the building's stuck elevator allowing them to clarify and find a solution for Giorgio and Patrizia.

More than a film, this is a series of perfectly executed sketches performed by truly exceptional theatrical actors and comedians. The taxi driver Tommaso Bianco, the substitute doorman Gigi Uzzo, his deputy Benedetto Casillo, the sweeper Sergio Solli, the lawyer Franco Javarone, the director Vittorio Marsiglia, and the man of the seahorse Riccardo Pazzaglia and the lottery stand Renato Rutigliano. The dialogues of the assisted, the outcome of the lottery game, the alternative to drugs with the Natascia subscription are hilarious. Impossible not to mention Isa Danieli, Renato Scarpa, Marzio Honorato, Geppy Gleiyeses and all the other worthy performers of this enjoyable comedy. De Crescenzo paints the characters from his eponymous book on film and brings to life those photographed in the belly of Naples and impossible to find elsewhere. It expresses an interesting reflection on the Camorra and with a measured lightness, even if not perfectly structured but still skillfully intertwined, manages his first film which overall is good.

Naples was like that about twenty years ago. Now, unfortunately, it has worsened, and perhaps a good portion of those characters inhabiting Bellavista's reality no longer exist or are quickly becoming extinct. Those from De Sica's work have almost completely disappeared. A pity. But truly.